UABIO appeals to the authorities on the problems of the biomethane industry

The Bioenergy Association of Ukraine has written a letter to the Office of the President, NEURC and GTS Operator regarding the problems of the biomethane industry in Ukraine

The Association published a statement on its Facebook page.

“Today, Ukrainian companies are working hard to establish the production of biomethane from agricultural waste, which is a sustainable and green energy source. But there are problems that, without urgent solution, the biomethane industry will not be able to function in Ukraine,” the statement said.

UABIO describes in detail why and at what stages the “failure” occurs and offers its vision of solving the problems.

The problem of connecting plants to the system

Out of the four biomethane plants currently connecting to the GDS, only one has completed the connection process within 6 months, while the others have been in the process for more than six months. And it shouldn’t be this way, we have figured out at what stages the delays occur.

Long terms for obtaining technical conditions for connection from DSO

We propose to develop and approve a standard form of technical conditions for the connection of biomethane plants to the GDS and set deadlines for the signing and entry into force of technical conditions – no more than 30 calendar days from the date of their issuance.

Long terms for signing a technical agreement

We propose to develop and approve a standard form of a technical agreement on the terms of acceptance and transmission of biomethane by the gas distribution system and set a deadline for the entry into force of the technical agreement – no more than 30 calendar days from the date of submission of the draft technical agreement by the GDS Operator.

Lack of a modern accredited laboratory in Ukraine that could analyze biomethane

In our opinion, to resolve the situation, it is possible to attract international technical assistance funds to create an appropriate accredited laboratory in Ukraine, for example, on the basis of Naftogaz of Ukraine.

Limited capacities of GDS to accept biomethane in certain periods

As a solution, we see the possible emergence of “biomethane clusters” that can be created by combining the networks of the GDS Operator with the networks of the GTS Operator. The solution to this issue requires a set of organizational and technical measures to reconstruct the existing GDS and GTS by connecting neighboring powerful networks into a ring with the same pressure (6 Bar, 12 Bar), which requires significant investment and complicates the connection process with additional work (land allocation, development of network ringing projects, transfer of trunk networks to gas distribution networks, etc.) Another solution may be for the DSO to provide a potential point for connection of a cogeneration unit or mobile boiler house, where biomethane can be consumed in the absence of the possibility of withdrawal by the DSO’s domestic and non-domestic consumers.

Requirements for higher calorific value of biomethane

The GTS Code should include requirements for biomethane to have a higher calorific value of at least 10.0 MJ/mcm (in line with European countries).

Lack of simplified procedures for connecting biomethane plants to gas distribution and electricity networks

We propose to extend the simplified procedure for connecting to gas distribution networks during martial law to biomethane plants, similar to that provided for gas turbine or gas piston plants, including cogeneration plants.

It is also imperative to extend the simplified procedure for connecting to the power grid during martial law to biogas, biomethane plants and biomass power and CHP plants, similar to the one provided for gas turbine or gas piston plants, including cogeneration plants.

We propose to create a “one-stop shop” mechanism in the organizational structures of GTS/DSOs.

They will provide companies implementing biomethane projects in Ukraine with prompt and qualified advice on the conditions for connecting biomethane plants to the GDS/GTS.

Sector development issues

• The need to designate a ministry responsible for implementing the biomethane industry development policy in Ukraine and for the overall coordination of ministries and agencies on this issue (energy, agricultural production, infrastructure and local community development, economy, European integration).
• The need to ensure that Ukrainian biomethane producers have access to the European biomethane database – the Union database, without which Ukrainian producers will not be able to export biomethane to the European market.
• The need to abolish export duties on biomethane for countries such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom, whose companies are interested in importing biomethane from Ukraine but are not members of the Energy Community.
• Attracting international technical assistance funds to co-finance the optimization of gas distribution systems for biomethane and the connection of biomethane plants to gas distribution systems and the GTS.

To download the full text of the letter and the annex in the form of a comparative table to the NEURC’s draft resolution “On Amendments to the Gas Transmission System Code and the Gas Distribution Systems Code”, please follow the link.